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Concert Reviews: USA and Canada

 

"From the country that spawned Mick Jagger, these players add another level of adventure to their concerts... it takes musicians of the highest caliber to make this kind of theatrical presentation work... After Red Priest, you'll never again hear Baroque music in quite the same way."

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL Oct 2008

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"If the Rolling Stones played recorder, violin, cello and harpsichord and their genre was 17th-century music, they would be the band called Red Priest"

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE Jan 2006

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"The dynamic early music group Red Priest, drew an absolutely packed house... The concert began 15 minutes late so the large crowd could be seated. There was a buzz in the Old Arts Building that is rare at most concerts, let alone chamber music events. Red Priest did far more than just play good old music well. They put on a show that awed with the breadth of musicality the four musicians displayed."

EDMONTON JOURNAL (Canada) Jan 2006

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"The ensemble's performances ran from red hot tempos to way cool interpretations, with plenty of visual and aural humor relieving moments of overwhelming intensity... The raging, wide-ranging sound effects certainly exhausted the exercise books of the respective instruments, but not the energy or precise control of the players."

WEST VIRGINIA GAZETTE Jan 2006

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"Stunning virtuosity and flamboyant stagecraft."

PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE REVIEW Jan 2006

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"Red Priest has carved out a unique niche in the early music world with its break-all-rules, rock concert-chamber concert approach to early music performance and with the dazzling technical prowess of recorder player Piers Adams."

MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL Jan 2006

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"The performance by British period instrument quartet Red Priest of "The Four Seasons" at Dumbarton Church on Saturday didn't so much breathe new life into Vivaldi as plunge an adrenaline-filled syringe into his heart…What made this zaniness work, was the players' virtuosity and thorough understanding of the baroque idiom"

WASHINGTON POST Jan 2003

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"[Piers Adams] and his bandmates treat Baroque music in the finest rock tradition. So if you get a chance to catch Red Priest, take it -- and take your lighter, too. Dude!"

THE OREGONIAN Nov 2003
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"There's absolutely nothing ordinary about the early music ensemble Red Priest, from its quirky costumes and innovative musical arrangements to its zany sense of humor and amazing virtuoso skills. In fact Red Priest is one of the most extraordinary ensembles on today's chamber music scene…"

VIRGINIA GAZETTE Feb 2003

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"Whatever stuffiness remained in the once-stodgy field of early music blew out the windows of Synod Hall on Saturday. Taking its place was the uproarious conduct of Red Priest, an English foursome that appears to have discovered music's fountain of youth... Even though Red Priest gave a new arrangement of "Seasons," the performance seemed more authentic than one by an orchestra, modern or period. And that is simply amazing. Any group that can make you rethink a masterpiece and also make it fun is rare indeed."

PITTSBURG POST-GAZETTE Sept 2002

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“Antonio Vivaldi met the musical Marx Brothers… an engaging mixture of facetiousness and artistry… staggering virtuosity… a real joy.”

PITTSBURG TRIBUNE REVIEW Sept 2002

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"Anyone expecting stuffiness and tedium must have gone home disappointed. The rest of us enjoyed consummate musicianship combined with a healthy dose of mirth."

GREEN MAN REVIEW July 2002

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"For people who "appreciate" classical music but have a little secret -- it bores them -- the answer is Red Priest. The four flamboyantly dressed British musicians mug, throw funny lines at us and make us laugh. But something important is going on, and it happens fast… the process is effortless, a barrel of fun and almost invisibly subtle… immaculately forged and cunningly phrased…legitimately baroque and thoroughly musical. An electrified audience shouted and cheered."

WASHINGTON POST Feb 2001

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"A high-energy baroque hoe-down… [Red Priest's] performing style comes from pop-infused acts such as Kronos Quartet or the violinist Kennedy… unfettered interaction and spontaneity… a wide-ranging, unhackneyed programme… deliciously twisted, vividly interpreted and played with dash and precision."

LOS ANGELES TIMES Oct 2001

 

"Nothing short of electrifying… combined a supremely accomplished level of musicianship with an almost superhuman energy and a sense of showmanship in a concert that will stand as one of the season's best… Purists might cringe at some of the liberties this ensemble takes, but it is hard to argue with the sheer verve and daring musicality it delivered."

DENVER POST Oct 2001

 

"Without a doubt, Red Priest has redefined the art of baroque music performance... it is really the virtuoso style of these four musicians that makes the entire performance meld into such a satisfying whole... the true magic of Red Priest is that they create music that will likely appeal to anyone with an ear for music. In these times, that is no small feat."

THE EASTENER Dec 2003

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"In brief: Wow!… Red Priest has not simply jumped onto a rolling bandwagon. They've taken off the wagon's wooden wheels and replaced them with Michelin radials."

DAILY HAMPSHIRE GAZETTE Oct 2001

 

"A wild ride . . . playful antics and stunning musicianship . . . breathed new life into all of these ancient pieces . . . an amazing evening"

THE POST-BULLETIN, ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA Oct 2001

 

"Different from all others, in almost every way imaginable…They had fun, they played their hearts out and brought the venerated era to bawdy, brilliant life."

NEWS JOURNAL FLORIDA Feb 2000

 

"A joy to behold… absolutely incredible virtuoso skill."

VIRGINIA GAZETTE Feb 2000